KEY POINTS:
Forty per cent of staff nurses in New Zealand hospital general wards leave their jobs each year, costing hospitals an average of nearly $25,000 to replace each one.
The study by Auckland University on nurse turnover at the country's public hospitals also found that hospital wards employ two nurses fewer, on average, than budgeted.
Turnover rates were slightly higher in regional hospitals than urban areas (39.6 per cent to 38.8 per cent) and in surgical wards than medical wards (41 per cent to 36.7 per cent). Each hospital spends about $20,000 per leaving nurse on temporary cover costs and overtime, and up to $5300 per replacement nurse in advertising and training costs.
"Nursing has an extremely high turnover of personnel and this is viewed as normal by most people in the healthcare field," said Associate Professor Nicola North, the study's primary investigator.
But it appears New Zealand's turnover rate is higher than other developed countries. The figure met with some surprise at the International Council of Nurses Conference she attended late last month.
The study is also being done in tandem with other countries such as Australia and Canada. While the overseas studies are at different stages of completion, New Zealand's nursing turnover rate appears to be significantly higher than preliminary figures from Canada's study, she said.
The study did not investigate reasons for leaving, but Professor North said typically many of the younger nurses left to gain overseas experience, while others chose to move to other departments or sectors of care.
While the numbers headed overseas were not known, indications are that the figure is high. Nursing Council data shows that it receives between 1600 and 2200 inquiries each year from overseas employers verifying nurses' New Zealand registration.
Official statistics show that there were about 29,000 active registered nurses in the country in 2004. Of the replacements, 40 per cent were new graduates and 22 per cent were overseas qualified. The rest were either transfers from other departments, from other parts of the country or nurses returning to work.
"Most leavers are replaced by new graduates or overseas nurses, and these are the most costly in terms of on-job training," said Professor North.
"Healthcare organisations need to recognise the issues around turnover and look at ways to manage and retain nurses in the workforce.
"This is especially important as there are shortages of nurses worldwide, including in New Zealand."
Professor North said interviews with charge nurses at hospitals indicated that the level of turnover was still the same despite a massive pay jolt in 2005, when public hospital nurses won a 20 per cent pay rise spread over 2 1/2 years.
She said this indicated money was not the sole factor in retaining staff. The average bed-occupancy rate in New Zealand public hospitals was about 92 per cent and this, coupled with understaffing, meant nurses were worked very hard.
